RICHARD BURTON’S daughter unveiled a bust of the Hollywood great yesterday as the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama officially revealed its £22.5m refurbishment.

RICHARD BURTON’S daughter unveiled a bust of the Hollywood great yesterday as the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama officially revealed its £22.5m refurbishment.

Kate Burton travelled to Wales from her home in America to do the honours. The bronze bust has gone on show outside the Cardiff college’s new 160-seat Richard Burton Theatre.

The courthouse theatre named in honour of the Pontrhydyfen actor is among the new facilities at the college, which include a 450-seat concert hall, corridor gallery space and cafe bar with terrace overlooking Bute Park.

Ms Burton said: “I think he would feel so happy that so many young people who want to become actors will be passing through a theatre named after him.”

Last night, she spoke movingly about her father during a celebration of his life to mark the launch of the Richard Burton Theatre.

She was joined by some of his closest friends, including War of the Worlds composer Jeff Wayne, Welsh actor Victor Spinetti, actress Claire Bloom and his great friend Robert Hardy, who had earlier in the day read a eulogy to Burton as the bust was unveiled.

In his eulogy, Hardy said: “In a sense he is going back to Wales, which, however he travelled, he never really left, to a theatre for these students, that will bear his name, and which I fancy he will haunt.”

A bouquet of white flowers from the family of the late Dame Elizabeth Taylor was placed alongside the bust.

A message sent with the bouquet read: “Thank you for so aptly honouring Richard’s legacy with this beautiful tribute.

“We know how fervently our mother wanted to be here at this dedication ceremony and we regret with all our hearts that she could not as it would have brought her so much joy.”

The actress, who famously married and divorced Burton twice, died in March, almost a year after she presented the bronze bust of Burton to the college during a gala at Buckingham Palace.

Ms Burton said of the bust of her father: “It was done in 1956, the year before I was born, when he was quite a young man.

“It’s wonderful to see him in all his glory.”

While the college’s new facilities opened to students last week, yesterday was the launch of a four-day celebration to mark the redevelopment at the building, which stayed opened throughout the project.

As well as the Burton celebration, there was a performance of Under Milk Wood and a student gala in the concert hall, which has been named in memory of Dora Stoutzker, a music teacher from Tredegar.

Ms Burton, who was joined by her stepsister Liza Tivey, the daughter of Dame Elizabeth, said: “It’s a gorgeous building. I spend a lot of time in New York at the Lincoln Center and in LA at the Music Center and it’s a mini version of them.

“What’s fantastic is that the Royal Welsh College already had a fantastic reputation and now it has fantastic facilities to match. It’s fantastic for the students.”

Yesterday’s celebrations came a day after the news that Burton is set to get a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame following a major campaign by the Western Mail.

The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce accepted his nomination just months after we launched our A Star For Burton Appeal.

Now almost £20,000 needs to be raised before his star can be installed on the world-famous Californian boulevard.

But the appeal is aiming to raise £40,000, with half going towards creating scholarships in Burton’s memory at the Royal Welsh College.

“I can’t believe he doesn’t already have a star,” said Ms Burton. “I live very close to the Hollywood Walk of Fame and it’s amazing it’s taken this long. It’s really wonderful that it’s going to happen and he would be very happy about it.”

The conservatoire opened in 1949 as Cardiff College of Music at Cardiff Castle before moving to its current site and later changing its name.

It was awarded its Royal title to mark the Queen’s Golden Jubilee in 2002.

Recently Published

With a glittering roll call of notables that have passed through its doors, National Youth Arts Wales is once again readying itself to unveil the stars of tomorrow, as principal manager Pauline Crossley explains to Karen Price

WalesOnline is part of Media Wales, publisher of the Western Mail, South Wales Echo, Wales on Sunday and the seven Celtic weekly titles, offering you unique access to our audience across Wales online and in print.